Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens
by Brightbriar
Summary: Following WRT and BLAB, Bumblebee and White Rose are finally a thing, but as the younger pair try to endure awkwardness and homophobia, and the elder trying to mend a slightly battered relationship, and the deal with racial discrimination against the faunus, things were never going to go terribly smoothly. (T for small amounts of violence, but with consequences, so just in case.)
1. Chapter 1: Flight of the Bumblebee

**Omg wonderful readers I'm so sorry I said I would upload this stuff in a couple of days and it's been a couple of weeks I'm sorry I forgot it was a thing because of a tsunami of schoolwork followed by virtually no internet and-**

 **Here's your continuation of White Rose Tea and Bright Lights and Bumblebee XD It takes place a couple of weeks after BLAB's epilogue!**

 **(If you haven't read Bright Lights and White Rose Tea, on my profile, I recommend you do so first - things here will make a lot more sense ^^)**

 **Cover art done by ram-jam on dA ^^**

 **(I would add a link, but fanfic won't let me...)**

* * *

It was almost autumn.

Beacon was buzzing with activity as the new semester approached. The city had its major university, named after the city itself, along with a pair of respectable colleges, and a well-known, private high school, meaning there lot of students were returning from their summer breaks, but not Blake. She'd spent her summer working extra hours in The White Stag, to pay for an apartment. She was entering her second year, which meant starting to get serious about life. Since she was doing a combined degree, it took four years as opposed to the usual three. Her results were good. Not topping every class, by any means, but one or two, when she worked hard.

She loved being at Beacon. Rather than trying to find a job and lying to all her peers about her species, she could study what she loved while lying to all her peers about her species. Well, most of them – she'd eventually told her roommate, Pyrrha, and her friends/boyfriend. She and Pyrrha had been put together as freshmen, and the arrangement had gone well, so they'd asked to stay together again. But it wouldn't last forever. Hence, getting serious.

And this 'getting serious' thing was going okay. She'd applied for internships with people she was interested in working with, and had been researching the job market and house prices in major cities. But there was one tiny thing about 'getting serious' she struggled with. All too often, she found herself lost in her unending thoughts about a certain blonde-haired doofus. Who, unfortunately, she _still_ hadn't managed to run into.

Ever since she'd been told that the Rose/Xiao Long family was here, she'd been terrified. And happy. And confused about the way those two things were blending. Weiss, another girl who worked at the White Stag, and was in her second year at that big private high school, had fallen for Yang's half-sister Ruby, and they were dating now, which was _great_. Really. It just made Blake feel a bit depressed that Weiss could hold down a relationship while the Faunus couldn't bear to _think_ about the girl she was crushing on without majorly freaking out.

She'd been taking more walks around the city than usual, hoping to just bump into her on the street or something. Not that she knew what she'd say, or how she'd explain why she'd never texted, and that she was also super ticked off about Yang not texting either, or how she'd even recover from Yang's presence, sort of in general. She had no idea where the blonde lived now, since when she'd been at Beacon the first time, they'd been on campus. (And her family wasn't in the phonebook – Blake had checked. Multiple times.)

And if she had a nickel for every time she'd pulled out her phone and stared blankly at the last conversation she and Yang had texted, unsure of what to say, she wouldn't have to be worrying about getting a job and being serious. It was also what she happened to be doing at the present moment.

She narrowed her eyes at her phone, frustrated, and threw it down on her bed. (Then picked it up to check it was okay when it bounced and hit the wall with a not-good sounding crash. Thankfully, it was fine.) She stood up, and wandered around the room, stretching her arms above her head. It was about 8pm. She'd intended to read tonight, but she couldn't focus. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Yang. _I wonder whether she knows I'm still here. Or if she knows I know she's here..._

 _Meanwhile..._

* * *

"I still can't believe you told her I was here!"

Ruby frowned at her sister. "She kinda asked. How was I meant to know who she was?"

The blonde rolled her eyes, glancing at her copy of War Horse, which was lying on her bedside table. She'd never returned to it Beacon's library. In her defence, they'd kicked her out of the school before she got the chance. They lose her, they lose a perfectly good book as well. She'd borrowed it when she and Blake had gone to the library. It wasn't particularly romantic, but it was Blake. Which automatically made it perfect.

Yang took a deep breath, and tore her gaze away. "How's Weiss? I haven't heard you talk about her for like, two days."

Ruby grinned, punching her sister's arm. "Shut up. She's fine. She's fabulous. But we were talking about your relationship."

"Ugh. You mean 'lack of relationship'."

Her sister grinned, putting one arm around her. "You're fine. You'll get her back – if you can't, no-one can."

"That's what I'm afraid of," she sighed.

Ruby was about to respond, but was interrupted by her phone buzzing. She pulled it out of the pocket of her skirt, and flicked her eyes over the screen. "It's from Weiss."

The blonde rolled her eyes, grinning a little. "Go text her then. I can feel sorry for myself on my own." She paused, then added, winking, "Keep it PG."

"Y-yang! I'm not even sixteen for another month!"

"I know a lot of people that hasn't stopped."

"You and your dirty mind..." Ruby muttered, grinning, as she left the room, going to the kitchen to find a cookie. She unlocked her phone, reading the text properly. It was incredibly profound – _'Hi.'_

She grinned even more broadly and started typing. ' _Hey :3 What's up?'_

There was a break as Weiss typed. Ruby opened the cupboard to see what their Dad had bought. _Ooh, chocolate chips..._

Her phone buzzed again. ' _Are you free this weekend?'_

' _Absolutely_ ~' she replied, without actually thinking about it.

 _'We should, um...do something.'_

Ruby rolled her eyes, and poured the chocolate chips into a bowl. They were probably meant to be for some cookies, but whatever. ' _Weiss Schnee, are you trying to ask me out on a date?'_

 _'*sigh* Trying.'_

' _It's totally worked ;)'_ Ruby couldn't help it. She was blushing, just a bit. (See: a lot.)

She looked up, startled, as Yang came into the kitchen, going straight to the fridge. But then Weiss sent another text. ' _How about we see a movie? You choose."_

' _Which cinema?'_

Yang came over to Ruby and glanced over her shoulder. "Awwww. You two are so cute together."

Ruby half-heartedly slapped her sister's arm. "It's rude to read other people's text messages."

Yang shrugged, and snatched Ruby's phone out of her hand. "Whatever. I'm your sister, so I don't count."

"Wha- Hey!"

The blonde just grinned, scrolling back through them. "The pair of you are literally adorable."

"Yang, th-that's my phone!"

"You use too many emoticons...and she writes in full sentences. I'll never understand it."

Ruby took a handful of the chocolate chips, and pulled the phone out of Yang's grip. She didn't really care, but she wanted to see if Weiss had replied. ' _Whatever works for you. There's one in that big mall close to yours, right?'_

' _Yup ^^ That should work.'_

 _'What movie?'_

 _'Don't know – let me check what's on atm...'_

Yang was already googling it. "There's Allegiant, Captain America, ooh, an Assassin's Creed movie..."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Come on, hand it over. I want to look through myself."

"Hang on." Yang narrowed her eyes, her tongue probing at the corner of her mouth, the way it did when she was concentrating. She took a minute or so to click on a few things, then handed the phone back to Ruby. "I had an idea."

Ruby's eyes widened in horror. "Oh no. Please don't let it involve me."

Blake looked up suddenly as she heard a knock on the door. "Hello?"

"It's Pyrrha - I left my key in there. Also, I've got something for you."

Blake nodded, and opened the door.

The redhead grinned at her, reaching into her pocket, and pulling out an envelope. "Thanks. I think this is yours."

Blake nodded, and took it from her, going back to sit on her bed. There was no return address, which she guessed wasn't that unusual. She ripped it open, and a ticket to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies fell out.

She frowned, suddenly incredibly confused, her mind completely blank. _...What?_


	2. Chapter 2: Your Hands Are Cold

When Blake arrived at the cinema, she was terrified.

She still didn't have the faintest idea who's sent her those tickets. She was half expecting some sort of pervert rapist, but why would they meet her in a public place? Pyrrha hadn't known a thing about it, except that it had been addressed to their room, with the faunus's name on it. But Blake had gone along anyway, 15 minutes before the movie was meant to start.

She tapped her foot on the hard floor, impatient, anxious. The possibility that it had been Yang had crossed her mind, and she _was_ sort of hoping the blonde would appear. But she was also prepared for disappointment.

She looked up suddenly as she heard a car door slam, startled by the noise. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw not Yang, but a tall man with thick, reddish-brown, windswept hair stepped out, and Blake froze. _Not him. Surely it's wasn't him._

The man went in a different direction, however, not noticing her. Blake, not even realising she'd been holding her breath, let it out with a heavy sigh. _I do_ not _want to deal with him right now..._

"Hey, Blake! You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Her ears pricked up suddenly under her bow, and she spun around to see a familiar blonde doofus, holding a rather large bag of popcorn. Not sure how to react, she just bit her tongue and swallowed down the rush of confusing emotions that threatened to envelop her, ignoring the fact that it suddenly felt quite warm in the spacious lobby. "Y-yang. What are you doing here?"

The blonde shrugged dismissively. "I was just dropping off Ruby and Weiss - you know Weiss, right?"

"Er...yeah."

"Anyway, I figured I might to see something too, while I was here. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, 3:30."

Blake narrowed her eyes. "Funny. I somehow stumbled across tickets to the same movie. At the same time."

"Huh. Funny."

The Faunus tried to glare, but instead found their old, teasing banter coming back to her. She punched Yang's arm lightly. "Come on, stop pretending you didn't set this up. It actually freaked me out a bit."

Yang seemed surprised. "Freaked out?"

"What if a serial killer had sent those tickets!"

"Eh, you'd be able to take 'em."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "You could've given _some_ indication of who the ticket was from."

Yang glanced at her feet. "I...I was worried you wouldn't come if I did that."

Blake felt any wall she'd been trying to build up crash down instantly when Yang showed vulnerability like that. She blushed a little. "Oh."

An awkward silence fell between them. Blake was finally the one to break it. "So...what're you doing here?"

"Dad got a new job here. I thought I'd get an apprenticeship, as a hairdresser."

Blake frowned. "Hairdressing," she echoed.

"Yeah. There's this really trendy place near our new house."

"Huh. But don't you hate it when anything happens to that bushy mess?" she grinned, glancing at Yang's hair.

"Psh, my hair's fabulous and you know it. It's pretty cool, just learning about it, even if I never actually do it."

"Huh. Okay."

They stood there in silence again. Blake checked her watch. "It's 3:25 - we can probably go in now."

* * *

The movie was great. There was no denying that - it was hilarious to see Lily James (as Elizabeth) deny Matt Smith's (Mr Collins's) proposal, since they were boyfriend-girlfriend outside the movie. And Matt Smith was _so perfect_ as Mr Collins. And the plot. And the costumes. And the battles.

And Yang, sitting beside her in silence.

They'd finished off all the popcorn in the ads. Blake was relieved to find they had the same popcorn-sharing technique - taking a large handful from the bucket, and eating it slowly. She had never understood the best way to share popcorn in a cinema. If you take one kernel at a time, it's just awkward, unless you're the one holding the bucket. If you take handfuls too often, you look like you're overdoing it, and taking way more than you should. If both of you are taking handfuls, it makes sense to just take it in turns - make sure you never take two handfuls in a row, and no-one feels cheated. But if the other person does it kernel by kernel, however, you're stuck.

Thankfully, neither she nor Yang cared about the politics of popcorn-sharing.

Blake didn't know if she should just ask if the blonde still had feelings for her. I mean, was it safe to jump to that conclusion, considering she sent those tickets? Was this like the not-date that Yang took her on (kind of) to the library last year? Maybe? Yes?

She sat further back in her chair. She'd have to just _ask_ to know for certain. There was no way around it. But she was hopeful.

As they came out of the theatre, Weiss and Ruby were waiting for them. Ruby introduced Weiss and Yang to each other properly, bright and bubbly as ever, which was good to see. Even Weiss had a small grin on her face. Blake, however, couldn't help but be a little disappointed - would she get the chance to catch Yang alone before they all left?

"How have you been, Blake?" Ruby asked, swaying back onto her heels.

Blake gave a small smile. "Alright. You?"

"Good! After all, I've been with Weiss, haven't I-"

She broke off as Weiss elbowed her sharply. She was grinning too though. And blushing a lot. "Oh, shut up, you cliché little..."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Hey, should we get some food?"

With absolutely zero reason for anyone to object, they quickly set off to find some sushi. It wasn't long before they found a place - a sheltered, simple shop with enough sushi rolls to feed an army. Ruby pushed open the door, and they all went up to examine the counter. Of course, Blake already knew what she wanted. _Tuna._

"Blake? Is that you?"

She jerked herself out of her thoughts, (her love for tuna was almost as thorough as her love for Yang,) by a familiar voice. An Asian guy with a magenta streak in his hair was standing behind the counter. "Ren?"

He smiled. "Hi. This was unexpected."

She nodded. She wasn't sure if the surprise was completely welcome, since she just wanted to talk to Yang right now, but it _was_ kind of good to see him. He was a friend of Pyrrha's - she'd run into him on campus a couple of times. Weiss came up behind her. "Do you know each other?"

"Through a mutual friend," she replied.

"A good enough friend to guess that she'll be wanting a tuna and avocado roll?" Yang added, moving to the counter. Blake noticed that the blonde hadn't asked what she was having either. _How does she..._

Ren rolled his eyes. "Please. Everyone knows that."

They ordered, and sat down at a table near the window. "So," Ruby said through a mouthful of food. "Is this a double date, or...?"

Blake and Yang's eyes almost simultaneously widened as they glanced at each other, and Weiss looked at Ruby, her expression alarmed. "I don't think they've sorted it out yet!"

"What? But they had a whole movie."

"They were probably _watching_ he movie, dunce..." Weiss was obviously trying to sound disapproving, but it wasn't hard to miss badly disguised affection in her tone.

Blake opened her mouth to speak, but had no idea what to say. Yang finally managed, "We have a lot to talk about."

 _That's putting it lightly._

"This is the first time we've seen each other in a year," Yang went on. "We'll figure it out later."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Right, because you sent those tickets _not_ wanting to see Blake again."

Blake kind of wanted to point out that she was sitting right there, but her brain wasn't really doing the words thing yet. _Double date? I-Is this a double date?_

She tried to put her mind at ease by taking a giant bite of the sushi. No, that wasn't enough. She stood up. "I'm going to get an iced tea..."

Okay, so maybe she was overreacting. Just a bit. It wasn't just Ruby's comment - it was also being in Yang's presence for about three hours, for the first time in ages. She sighed, feeling a headache beginning to come on. Maybe it was the socialising, too. For the past year she'd just been happy being her introverted self, with Pyrrha, sometimes Jaune, and _occasionally_ Nora and Ren. But now, she'd met - no, _seen_ \- Ruby only a few times in the past few weeks, at The White Stag, and she'd somehow ended up on a kind-of-not-double-date, eating sushi, sort of making (see: hiding from) conversation with her.

Then again, from what Yang had said, Ruby was equally socially awkward, if not more so. Maybe she just felt at ease around Weiss. She pushed these thoughts away, and ordered the drink, from someone other than Ren - he'd disappeared. "Could I have a double- I mean, an iced tea? The peach one?"

She went back to the table, listening as the others made small talk. It started to rain outside, pattering lightly on the windows and pavement outside, ebbing and returning every so often, if you listened to it - Blake was the kind of person who did.

Every so often, she noticed Weiss looking at her. Every time she caught her, she looked away, as if guilty. It was different to the way she looked at Ruby, there was no doubt about that, but she seemed...not worried, but as if she was trying to figure something out. "Hey Ruby, why don't we go to that comic book store you were talking about?" she finally said.

Ruby grinned. "Yes! Do you two want to come?"

Blake and Weiss exchanged a glance, and Weiss discreetly shook her head. Blake narrowed her eyes. _What's she saying?_

Then she realised, she'd given Blake an opportunity to be alone with Yang. (See: an opportunity to escape.) "I'm okay," she said quickly. "We might catch up later."

Yang nodded, and the pair left, Ruby wandering down the road in a very carefree manner, Weiss with that regal air about her, as always. The blonde smiled. "They're really different, aren't they?"

"So are we," Blake replied, without thinking.

Yang frowned. "Yeah. On the surface, anyway. Hey, do you want to stay in here, or walk in the rain?"

Blake grinned. "The rain."

They went outside too - Blake wasn't prepared for the sudden gust of wind that sent a sheet of water barreling into her, but she didn't care - she grinned, embracing the sudden coldness. Yang didn't look super excited, but was content, a small smile playing on the corners of her lips, her hands shoved deep into her pockets.

They walked away from the sushi place, into the plaza - then Blake had an idea. "I need to show you something."

Yang grinned. "That sounds vague enough to be a bookstore. Or a library."

Blake just rolled her eyes. "Wrong, actually."

She led the blonde down a narrow alley, lined with motorcycles, and maybe one or two cars. Yang just looked confused. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

The shopping centre had an interesting layout - in the outdoor area, the shops were arranged large squares, facing outwards. On the insides of these squares were the backs of all the buildings, with parking for employees, and a place for whatever extra stock the store needed to be unloaded. But on the back of the comic store - and around the whole square of shops - some graffiti artists had gotten creative. There were incredible artworks, presumably done with spray paint, of super heroes, protagonists and antagonists, characters from fantasy and sci-fi books, some of which Blake hoped Yang would recognise. Not many people knew about it, and those who did had usually found it by accident. Blake had found it a few months ago.

When they finally got there, Blake could actually hear Yang gasp in surprise. "This is so cool."

"I know."

They wandered closer to the buildings as Yang examined the artworks. "And this is all just by graffiti artists?"

"Pretty much."

Yang grinned. "That's cool," she repeated.

Blake nodded, looking around the large space. Her eyes lingered on a White Fang logo that had been painted at about chest height on a wall in front of it. _That wasn't there last time_. She blinked, then ignored it. Though it had almost killed her good mood, (which was practically impossible, with the combination of Yang, tea, tuna and rain,) it didn't have anything to do with her.

Yang finally tore her gaze away from the graffiti, murmuring, "We have a lot to talk about."

Blake nodded. "Yeah."

They both fell silent, unsure of where to start. Blake lifted her foot to scratch the back of her leg, then said, "We never texted."

Yang frowned. "Yeah."

"Does that mean...does that mean you moved on?"

"I thought it might have meant _you'd_ moved on."

Blake sighed. "Okay, so we get zero points for communication."

There was another excruciatingly long silence. Blake wasn't sure what to say - how to express what she felt - and what to expect in return. She almost allowed herself to become lost in the art again. Yang finally spoke up. "I feel the same way that I did last time," she said quietly. " _My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever."_

Blake frowned. That sounded awfully familiar. Then she realised. "Oh my God."

"What?"

She grinned, then let out a fangirls squeal. "Oh my God, you've watched it!" Almost forgetting herself, she threw herself into Yang's arms, hugging her. Yang's eyes widened, heat spreading across her face. "You've finally watched it!"

"It's not that big a deal..."

Blake shook her head, stepping back, placing her hands firmly on Yang's shoulders. "This _is_ a big deal. You watched Pride and Prejudice."

"Only because of you," the blonde said earnestly.

Blake swore her heart was about to burst out of her chest. She squealed again. "Aah, I'm so proud of you!"

"Er..."

"But," she said seriously, stopping dead. "That's from the 2005 movie. Please tell me you watched the BBC version too."

"Not yet..."

Blake's eyes widened. Then she grabbed Yang's wrist. "We're going back to Beacon to watch it right now."

Yang's eyes widened. She'd probably never seen Blake like this - this fangirly. "Blake, stop. Do you realise what I just told you?"

Blake paused. _My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever._ Her eyes widened. "Oh."

Yang nodded. "So?"

Blake blinked, then let her hands slide down Yang's wrist, holding her hands instead. She grinned, replying, "Your hands are cold."

"Yeah, it's kinda raining, so-"

"Yang, the movie!"

The blonde paused, then grinned broadly. "You nerd."

"Gosh, you just noticed?"

"Good point."

Blake laughed, then hugged Yang again. "Whatever. I'm your nerd."


	3. Chapter 3: California Dreamin'

When Blake got back to her dorm room, she was exhausted, but in the best way possible. She was still trying to get over a few things:

1\. Yang still liked her.  
2\. They'd told each other they still had feelings for each other with Pride and Prejudice quotes.  
3\. Yang hadn't seen the BBC movie. Or read the book. _Or_ watched the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. (However, Blake was willing to forgive her, since she'd been doing a lot of other reading, though she still intended to rectify this as soon as possible.)  
4\. _Yang still liked her!_

She started to tidy up a bit - she'd left the room in a bit of a mess when she'd gone out, with serial killers and whatnot at the forefront of her mind at that point. Pyrrha was sitting at her desk, back turned. "Hey."

"Hey," the faunus replied, shaking out a coat that had been draped over the end of the bed.

"How was the movie?"

"Really good. How's your essay going?"

"Alright. Slowly."

Blake rolled her eyes. By that, she probably meant she'd finished her first draft, and it wasn't due for a week or two.

Pyrrha paused, then asked, "Who sent the tickets?"

The faunus couldn't stop herself from grinning. "Yang."

Pyrrha turned around. "Wait, really? She's back?"

She nodded. "I think she's been around for a few weeks."

"Is she at Beacon again?"

"No. She's doing an apprenticeship. I don't think they'd let her in if she tried."

She grimaced. "That's probably true. You should bring her over here some time - it'd be good to see her again."

Blake grinned, tossing a pair of minty wrappers in the bin. _You have no idea._

* * *

For Weiss, the train ride home from Beacon was always long.

Her family lived in Atlas. The military-mining city was north of Vale, and many people commuted between them, alongside Mistral and Vacuo. Atlas was where she went to school, where Winter went to uni, and their father went to work. Of the three of them, Weiss went into Vale most often - she badly wanted to go to Beacon once she graduated. If it weren't for Winter's quiet, steady support, their father would have squashed the idea long before now, but Weiss was stubborn. She got a job at the White Stag as an excuse to go out there and see the campus each week. But the train ride home was the worst.

She gazed out the window, a small smile on her lips, her thoughts still filled with Ruby, adjusted the collar of her shirt, and crossed one leg over the other, leaning her head against the side of the train, folding her hands in her lap. The rain from before had quickly escalated into a full-blown storm - she'd ridden her bike to the train station, and had become drenched in the process - her hair was plastered to her face, ponytail dripping with water. As night approached, chances were it would only get worse - looking outside, she couldn't really see the rain, but she could see the leaves on trees, dipping as raindrops hit them, then slid off onto it the pavement below.

When she arrived home, it was the same thing, every day. She called out to let her Dad know she was here, checked the hallstand to see if Winter had hung up her coat, indicating that she was home, (which she had,) then went upstairs to her room.

Unsurprisingly enough, their house was rather large. Four bedrooms, three of which with walk-in-wardrobes, three bathrooms (including one ensuite, in their father's room,) a large sitting room and kitchen, a dining area, and a large room out the front to entertain guests. And the garage, with two car spots. (Though she had become old enough, her Dad didn't want her to drive yet. Winter was going to teach her anyway, during the summer break, but she'd suddenly become busy with a trio of courses she was taking over the summer. Weiss was getting _really_ impatient, but it wasn't too bad, since she didn't feel like all her friends were already driving, because she didn't have any really close friends, besides Ruby and Winter. Which was worse, but nevermind.)

She slipped past her father's study, darting carefully around the creaky floorboard near the door, slipped into her room, and hung up her coat. The upstairs part of the house was really an attic, converted into actual rooms. Hence, Weiss's room had the sloping roof, and a square window, about as wide as the door. She often sat up there, on the windowsill, curled up, her back against the wall, pulling the curtain across and looking outside when she wanted to get away from things. To forget everyone's expectations, and the expectations she had for herself.

But recently, she'd learnt to do that with Ruby.

She looked up as she heard a knock on her door - even though she'd left it open. It was Winter. "May I come in?"

"Sure."

Her (incredibly tall) older sister slipped through the doorway and shut it behind them. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You went to Vale again."

"So?"

Winter shrugged. "Dad's won't be happy."

"Is he ever happy?"

"Okay, good point," she conceded, narrowing her eyes. "It's just that you usually go to Vale for your job, or if something's wrong. So what's wrong?"

Weiss shrugged. "I just went to see a movie with a friend. She lives in Vale, and I don't mind catching the train."

"Who's the friend?"

"Her name's Ruby. I met her at the White Stag."

A smile played on the corner of her sister's lips. "That's good. It's good that you have friends."

She nodded. _But what if you knew_ exactly _what she was..._ "Yeah. Yeah, she's nice."

Winter shrugged. "Anyway, I think you should talk to Dad. He realised you were gone about an hour ago."

Weiss only _just_ held back a groan, getting up off her bed. Winter sighed, and headed to their father's office, Weiss following reluctantly. Their father wasn't a bad man - he and Weiss just had conflicting ideas about the way the world should work, and how much freedom she should have to make her own choices.

He was sitting at his desk, Excel open on his computer - a mac. The entire family had apple products. He turned around as the sisters came into the room. Winter wandered deeper into the room, leaning on the edge of the desk. "Weiss is back."

"I noticed."

Weiss bit her lip. "Sorry."

He turned around. "What for?"

"I went to Vale."

Their father sighed, closing his eyes. "You know you're meant to ask me before you do that."

"I know."

"What did you do?"

"Saw a movie. With a friend."

He paused. "What friend?"

"She's called Ruby. She's a regular customer at the White Stag." She nearly added the part about her usual order, but didn't think he'd be too impressed with the white rose tea thing.

He paused, then his gaze softened. "How was the movie?" he asked, putting down his cup of coffee, dropping his shoulders a little, the kindness in his eyes surprising Weiss. She felt a prick of guilt. _Maybe I've been too hard on him recently._

"Fine. A little predictable. We went to that comic book store afterwards."

He frowned. "Comic books?"

"Oh, it lines up more with Ruby's interests."

Her father nodded. "And did you have a good time?"

"Yes, I did."

He sighed. "That's good. I just wish you could be equally satisfied in Atlas, Weiss. You know that."

"I know. But I like Vale, too."

"I understand that," he replied steadily, his tone of voice a little harder - more solid. "Have you thought about who you're going to invite to the masquerade?"

The Schnee family held a masquerade every Autumn equinox, to celebrate the Vytal Festival. Forty years ago, around this time of year, a war that had gone on for at least ten years between humans and faunus ended. And though society was far from achieving equality, they still celebrated he lack of...large-scale bloodshed, by posing as the opposite species for the day. However, since the Schnees were permanently pitted against the faunus in their own way, only humans were really invited into their home, so their party was simply a masquerade, with people wearing animal masks, rather than including faunus hiding their heritage, and occasionally turning off the lights, mocking the humans as they "stumbled" around in the dark, stealing food off people's plates as a bit of harmless fun.

The reason why the Autumn Equinox specifically had been chosen, however, was that night and day were equal. The day was about striving towards equality, something that Weiss and Winter's father was really struggling with, and that Weiss intended to fix as soon as she was old enough to make some changes to the way their company operated.

Weiss paused. "No. No, but I can think of a few people."

Winter's eyebrows shot up. "A few? I thought you had one friend now."

Their father looked equally surprised, and Weiss grinned. "Why is everyone so surprised that I have friends?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Weiss. This is quite new though, isn't it?"

"I guess..."

"Who are they?"

Weiss swallowed. "There's Ruby, her older sister Yang, and someone else I work with at the White Stag, Blake. She and Yang...know each other."

"And they're the kind of people we want here?"

Weiss hesitated, thinking of Ruby's clumsiness and inability to read the atmosphere. Blake's extreme introversion, and faunus heritage. Yang's...well, the length of Yang's shorts and the _very_ scooped neckline of her shirt. Not to mention all the gayness. She must've made a face, because Winter had raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

She swallowed. "I'll keep them in line."

Their father narrowed his eyes. "You'd better," he said, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Of course. Is that all?"

Winter rolled her eyes, and their father sighed. "I was hoping we could have a conversation for once."

Weiss's heart sank. "Aren't you...busy?"

Her father closed his eyes. "Winter, leave us."

The elder sister paused, glanced at the pair of them, then strode from the room. Weiss bit her lip. "Sorry," she repeated.

"No, I'm sorry..." he murmured. "I haven't been listening to you. Sometimes I feel like I hardly _know_ you, Weiss."

Weiss paused. "It's okay. I'm okay."

"I just try to do what's best for you."

Her gaze hardened. "I know. But sometimes _I_ know what's best for me, more than anyone else."

He studied her carefully. "You're so like your mother, you know. That voice of yours...hers was the same."

Weiss glanced at her feet, not sure how to respond. He blinked, then waved his had dismissively. "You don't want to be here. Go and do something useful."

Weiss felt the tension in her chest release itself, flooding with relief. "Okay. What time will dinner be?"

"6:30."

She nodded, and slipped back out of the room, nearly jumping in surprise to see Winter just around the corner. "Wha-?! You weren't eavesdropping, were you?!"

"He just wants to get close to you again," she replied, evading Weiss's question.

"Whatever," she huffed. She was told what to do constantly by her father - the last thing she needed was her sister doing the same thing. "I'm going to make some tea."

Winter frowned. "Aren't you a coffee person?"

"Ruby introduced me to rose tea, and it's really nice," she replied. "Less caffeine, too."

"Alright, don't let me stop you. I'll be in my room."

Weiss nodded, pausing before going down the stairs. "Would you like me to get you anything?"

"I'm fine."

The junior year student nodded, and ducked downstairs, making for the kitchen. The entire house, which had been renovated recently, was incredibly modern and streamlined, but Weiss had picked a couple of items that sticked out a bit. The most recent one she'd found, walking with Ruby the week before was a bright, coppery-coloured, vintage kettle. She filled it with water, and plugged it into the power, switching it on.

She'd made a habit of making white rose tea since that day, when she and Ruby had confessed the way they'd felt. After about a minute, while the water boiled, she found a mug. She preferred drinking this kind of tea from a mug - she wasn't quite sure why. It felt more cozy. She grabbed a teabag of rose tea, from the same box that had fallen on the floor back in the White Stag. She'd felt so bad about serving people tea that had been on the floor, she'd gone to buy some to replace it, taking the old box home. She poured in the water, then the dash of milk that made it special to the pair of them - Ruby and Weiss.

She closed her eyes, breathing in the tea's sweet scent. This "friendship" with Ruby would be tough to manage - everything about it was so different to the rest of her family. Where they conformed, Weiss rebelled, defying society's expectations, and maybe even human nature itself. Where her family was a little uptight, and very proper, Ruby was carefree and awkward. And Weiss had no idea where any of this would end up leading.

But she wouldn't have it any other way.


	4. Chapter 4: Dancing Through Life

**The excerpt below is a reference to George de Valier's incredible set of Hetalia fanfictions, the Veraverse, though the name 'Rolfe' is an alteration from the original. While the plot of this fictional book Ruby is reading doesn't exactly mirror that of Auf Wiedersehen Sweetheart, I like to that it echoes the tone of this amazing piece of writing ^^**

* * *

The White Stag was had been unusually quiet today. Blake and Weiss were getting ready to hand over to Gwen and Nebula. The writer, who never said a word besides her order, was in the corner, typing away, glancing up from her computer every so often to survey her surroundings or look out the window, was basically the only person here, who wasn't waiting for a takeaway order. Emerald said she'd tried to have a conversation with her previously, but her answers, though not unkind, were short and brusque.

Emerald was a strange sort of character. Her past was implied to be...interesting. But somehow she'd ended up in charge of a coffee shop. She didn't actually show up much - money was transferred into their bank accounts at the end of each day. (It wasn't terribly uncommon for this to happen at 1am.) In the early hours of the morning, she'd bring in all the baked goods for the day, place them in the middle of the room in a pair of crates, and leave. Every employee knew how to contact her if a fire started or something, but otherwise, she didn't get involved in the actual selling of coffee and food.

"Thanks, by the way. For the other day."

Weiss looked up at Blake suddenly, frowning. "What for?"

"For giving Yang and I some time to be alone," she explained.

She smiled. "Oh, no problem."

"Is Ruby coming in today?"

"No - she had a tae kwon do lesson."

"Aah. Is that a weekly thing now?"

Weiss shook her head, passing her an empty cup. "She's helping out with one of the junior classes. It's a one-off."

Blake nodded, flipping it over to see what the customer had ordered. _Hot chocolate._

"By the way..."

"Yeah?"

"If you get a weird email about the Schnee masquerade, it's an invitation. I was hoping you, Ruby and Yang would come."

Blake blinked in surprise. "Okay. I'll try to be there."

Weiss smiled. "Please do.

She hesitated. "Why would the email be weird?"

"It's a little..." Weiss trailed off, trying to find the words. "Well, it's very _formal."_

* * *

Ruby lay upside down, reading a book, with Zwei lying across her legs, snoring quietly. It was the same one that she'd been reading at the White Stag, a few weeks ago. She was getting closer to the end - maybe around seventy-five pages were left. But so much could change in seventy pages. Her heart had been broken my this author in ten pages before, let alone seventy...

 _'"Ground Control to Schwarz Leader. Come in Schwarz Leader. Can you give us your position?"_

 _The voice crackled through Rolfe's speakers and into his ears, very nearly startling him from the relative silence and calm of the flight thus far. He quickly shook out of his serene state, surprised and angry that he had so easily allowed himself to blank out. He scanned the clear skies in his line of vision as he prepared to respond. He hadn't thought he would need to do so anytime soon. They were nearly back at base, returning from a long mission escorting bombers to their new base on the Austrian border. Rolfe was tired, drained, and running low on both fuel and energy. He could only guess his three accompanying squadron members were feeling the same. He fitted his mask in place to respond. "This is Schwarz Leader to Ground Control. We are currently on vector one-seven-three heading two-four-five, all seems well. Over."_

 _"Thank you, Schwarz Leader. We have received reports of enemy fighters patrolling your area. Be on the lookou-'_

Her concentration was broken as her phone vibrated. She blinked, then picked it up. No text from Weiss, unfortunately, but... _is that an email?_

She sat up, crossing her legs, opening the Gmail app. There was one new message from 'noreply-schnee schneeandco'. Strange. She opened it up, her eyes slowly widening in surprise as she read it.

 _Miss Ruby Rose,_

 _You have been invited by Weiss Schnee to go to the Schnee Company's annual Vytal Festival Masquerade, at the Schnee residence, on September 22nd. The gathering's primary purpose is to celebrate the anniversary of the end of the Faunus War, hence it is expected that every guest's behaviour will be appropriate for the occasion. Please wear formal dress, an easily removable mask, and present ID at the door._

 _If you cannot attend, please notify Weiss or Winter Schnee as soon as possible._

 _Kind Regards,_

 _Schnee & Co._

 _"There are somethings that money can't buy. For everything else, there's the Schnee & Co."_

Ruby promptly fell off the couch, Zwei too, awaking with a surprised yelp.

She regained her bearings after a few moments, re-reading the email. _F-formal dress?!_

Confused, she read the email again, then called out, "Yang!"

The blonde poked her head around the door. "Yeah?"

"Did you get a weird email from Weiss?"

Yang frowned, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "Maybe? I haven't checked."

Ruby shrugged, looking at the email again. _Formal dress..._

The elder sister frowned down at her phone. "She could have just sent a quick, 'hey, want to come to the vytal masquerade at my place?'"

Ruby wasn't listening. She was just vacantly staring into space. _Formal dress. Why._

Yang shrugged. "Sounds fun. Bet the food will be good. Hopefully Blake's coming too."

Ruby finally voiced her thoughts. "Yang, will I have to wear heels?"

Her older sister grinned. "Yes."

Ruby would have sworn, if she hadn't been the total cinnamon roll that she was. She glanced over at Zwei, who just cocked his head to one side. _Hey, I_ _wonder if Zwei could wear heels..._

* * *

Yang and Blake sat alone in the faunus' dorm room. Pyrrha was doing some extra study with Jaune, but Blake had a feeling Jaune was the only one who was benefiting. Well, in terms of study. Pyrrha got something else entirely out of her time with him.

She and Yang had just finished marathoning the first half of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, abusing Beacon's free wifi. (Well, free for students.) It was a bit of a stretch to watch that much in one go, and Blake had asked Yang multiple times if she wanted to stop, if this was enough for her, but the blonde seemed to be enjoying it. When they hit episode 50, they fell back onto the bed almost with relief.

Yang was staring at the ceiling. "I think...it's grown to the point where it feels wrong to not have that headphone in one ear."

Blake grinned. "We can rectify that and watch more, if you want."

"God, no! We've reached 50 - if we keep going I'll be here all night."

"Is that really a bad thing though?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "Alright, let me rephrase that. I'll have been her all night, and we won't have talked."

"Much better. Did you get Weiss's invitation?"

"Yeah. Ruby and I are going. You?"

"Yep."

Yang shuffled a little closer to the wall, giving Blake some more room. "Do you think you'll go as a cat?"

"Yeah, but wearing the bow. It is a Schnee ball, after all. You?"

"I was thinking of like, a bear or something." Blake had her back to her. Yang grinned, and took her hair in her hands.

The faunus stiffened, her cat ears going flat against her head. She was wearing her bow, but Yang noticed it becoming very crooked all of a sudden. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm just braiding it!" she laughed.

"Oh. Okay."

Yang separated it into three strands, intending to do some sort of updo. She wasn't really sure exactly what yet. Blake's hair was really silky. A bit tangled, but silky.

"Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm thinking of doing postgrad law, if I do well with this arts-psychology thing."

 _Maybe I'll dutch braid it down the side, then put the rest in a bun_. "Good for you. I'm sure you'll kick ass."

Blake was silent for a moment. "But seriously. Does that seem weird? That I spend four years studying something totally irrelevant to whatever's coming next?"

"Dunno. What would you do with the law degree? Would you practise?" Yang asked, pushing her hand into her pocket to see how many bobby pins she had with her.

"No. I don't know. I...it was just an idea. I don't really know what I'm doing with my life."

The blonde sighed. "Me neither. I don't think I want to be a hairdresser."

"You're literally doing my hair right now."

"Yeah, but I don't want to spend my life being paid to do stuff with strangers' hair," she pointed out, continuing to play with the faunus's hair.

"True, true."

Yang bit her lip. "I've tried the army. I've tried uni. Now I'm trying bloody _hairdressing_. I'm not exactly the best person to ask."

"Does Ruby know? What she's doing with her life?"

"No. She just wants to help people."

"What, so like, in hospitality?"

"I think she had something a little more romantic in mind."

"Fair enough."

Yang grinned, securing the braid with a yellow hair-elastic around her wrist. _Maybe I'll just leave the rest in a side ponytail. It looks nice that way._ "You'll figure it out."

Blake grimaced. "Yeah. I hope so."

"Or we could just, pull a Fiyero and wing it."

Blake frowned. "Fiyero?"

"From Wicked?"

"Never seen it."

"You should. We should. Yeah, let's do that sometime."

They continued to lie there in silence, thinking. That conversation had brought to the forefront of Yang's mind something that she'd been ignoring for a long time - what was she actually doing with her life? She was nineteen, still living with her Dad and sister, which she supposed wasn't _that_ unusual, but it's not like she had a plan or anything like that. She wanted to go overseas - she wanted to see more of the world, but how? She wasn't cut out for the army, managed to get herself kicked out of uni...

 _Damnit._

"Hey, Yang?"

The blonde blinked a couple of times as Blake cut into her thoughts. "We will figure this out someday, right? What we're doing with our lives?"

"I suppose we have to."

"But..." Blake bit her lip. "I don't know. I'm just worried."

"It's not like you'll end up on the streets or anything."

"Yeah, but...what if I end up stuck in a job that I hate?" she said, anxiety creeping into her tone. "What if..."

Yang shuffled forward and gave her an awkward lying-down-side-hug. "You'll figure it out eventually."

Blake sighed, lying there for a few seconds. Then she sat up, gently lifting Yang's arm off her. "But...how?"

Yang sat up too, then grinned. "What do you think?"

Their eyes met - Yang's were shining with mischief, while Blake just looked confused. "What do you think?" she echoed.

The blonde grinned even more broadly. "Come on, you must know what I'm going to say next."

Blake frowned, then realised. Then they both just started laughing.

 _It is a truth universally acknowledged that Yang Xiao Long, in the face of an unanswerable question, will always come up with the response, 'magic'._


End file.
